Lynne Minges, on behalf of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, told representatives from Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain, Seven Devils, and Watauga County at an intergovernmental retreat:

For every one dollar North Carolina invests in tourism advertising, it sees $191 in new visitor spending. . . . It’s a big industry: More than $4 billion in payroll, $942.2 million in state taxes and $545.9 million in local taxes.